Street-railway curve.



No. 717,728. PATENTED JAN. 6, 1903. A. C. WELLS.

STREET RAILWAY CURVE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. v, 1902,

No MODEL.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

ALBERT C. WELLS, OF `VVHITTIER, CALIFORNIA.

STREET-RAILWAY ou avE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,728, dated January 6, 190.3. Application filed April 7, 1902. Serial No. 101,844. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT C. WELLS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Whittier, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Street-Railway Curves, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its objects the reduction of the noise and friction incident to the turning of street-railway cars at the corners of streets where the track turns from one street to another at right angles or approximately at right angles thereto.

In the present common methods in use on street-railways where the track turns from one street t0 another street at right angles thereto a guard-rail is laid on the inner side of the inner or shorter side of v'the curve, against which the flange of the car contacts as yit turns the corner, thereby producing considerable friction and a very disagreeable rasping noise. With my improved construction, described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, such friction and noise are reduced to the minimum.

Figure l is a cross-section of my improved curve with a car-wheel thereon. Fig. 2 is a plan of the curve, showing the ball-race and inner rail of the curve.

In the drawings, A is the inner rail of the curve, of ordinary construction, on the inner side of which is ball-race B, the outer or longer side of which is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. In the ball-race are balls C, which are adapted to contact with the iiange D of the wheel D as it turns the curve, thereby Giving the iiange a rolling contact with the instead of the sliding contact of the guard thereof, removable doors H being provided, 1

so that the pit may be cleaned when necessary. By this construction the use of oil on the curves is rendered unnecessary.

Having Vdescribed. my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a street-railway a ball-race on the inner sideV of the inner rail of the track at the curves therein; balls in said race adapted to contact with the lflange of the car-Wheel as it turns such curve.

2. In a street-railway a ball-race on the inner rail of the track at the curves therein having a channel opening into a dirt-pit; balls in said ball-race adapted to contact with the flange of the car-wheel as it turns -such curve.

3. In a street-railway curve a ball-race having balls therein adapted to receive the inward thrust of the car-wheel as it turns such curve.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 1st day of April, 1902.

`ALBERT c. WELLS.

Witnesses:

G. E. HARPHAM, M. C. NICKELnsoN. 

